A Week to Remember

It was another jam-packed week around here.  Last weekend, TJ & Mommy flew to Colorado for a four-day weekend to spend with Grandpa & Grandma.  It was a quick trip, so we didn't have time to see everyone, but we made wonderful memories with family.

Ga & Pa moved to Buena Vista recently, so it was our first chance seeinng their new house.  It's a perfect home, in a beautiful part of the state.  Mommy loved seeing all the mountains, trees and blue skies.  TJ was happy to have fresh air and a place to run around like crazy throwing his Mighty Shield his grandparents bought him. Aunt G & Pat made the trip down for part of the weekend.  Of course, they spoiled the little man, too. 

Ga & Pa are close to Uncle Carl & Aunt Jane, so we were happy to see them a lot, too.  They came to the town's homecoming parade with us, where TJ cashed in on pockets full of candy.  Then, they joined us for a homemade spaghetti & meatball dinner for Mommy's birthday.  TJ had asked Pa for the special dinner (it's his favorite), and he was too excited to sleep.  So, in the beginning of the dinner, what does he do?  Crawl into Grandma's lap and fall asleep.  Poor little guy missed it all!  He did manage, however, to wake up for cake & ice cream.

Sunday was a gorgeous fall day, so we took the short trip up into the mountains to St. Elmo.  This was Mommy's favorite place to go as a kid.  It's an historic ghost town above Mt. Princeton, and it has a chipmunk area.  Now, it sounds weird to a lot of people, but we grew up going to St. Elmo and feeding the chipmunks.  So, it was really cool to take TJ up there and continue the family tradition.  Plus, he absolutely loved it!!!

After lunch in the park, TJ broke out the new sandbox Grandpa bought him, and helped Pa around the garage.  We then took a drive into Salida for dinner.  It was a perfect day.

Monday, it was time to head back to Denver so we could fly home.  TJ was so sad to leave Grandpa & Grandma, but he was happy to see Daddy when he picked us up at SFO that night.

Wednesday was another special day.  TJ & Daddy met Mommy at one of the BART stations downtown after her work, and we took the train to Oakland's Oracle Arena for Disney on Ice.  Mommy had splurged and got 3rd row tickets on the ice, and TJ was thrilled.  He saw Beauty & the Beast, The Incredibles, Mickey Mouse & his gang, Toy Story, and TJ sang Hankuna Matata when Timon & Pumba skated out. 

He wore his Buzz Lightyear costume for the first half of the show before taking it off at intermission.  At the end of the show, Mommy shuttled TJ down to the front, and he shook Donald's hand while other characters came by and waved.  He was clutching his brand new talking Woody doll when Buzz and Jessie skated up.  Buzz shook TJ's hand (the highlight of his short life), and Jessie called Woody over.  He skated over, patted TJ on his head and shook his hand.  TJ was in heaven!  I wish I was able to capture the look on his face, but it all happened so fast.  TJ wasn't even smiling - it was just this look of awe - big eyes, open mouth.  It was priceless!

The rest of the week, we rested and tried to recover from the amazing time we had in Colorado and at Disney on Ice.  This week should be calm before we gear up for Halloween parties next weekend.

My Week with Grandma

TJ was lucky enough to have Grandma come out and stay a whole week with him.  It had been the longest stretch since they had seen each other, and both were so excited to be reunited.

Grandma's carryon was stuffed with goodies for TJ.  He loved the stickers and cars from Pa, and the Jake & the Neverland Pirates toy from Aunt G.  His favorite was the 48-piece pirate puzzle from Ga.  He has been able to master the 24-piece puzzles by his third time doing it, so Grandma wanted to give him a little challenge.  It took him a few days, but after that, he was able to do the puzzle all by himself.  He's such a smartypants. :)

On Sunday, we did have to make our trip to Pier 39 so we could have lunch at Bubba Gump's.  It has become sort a tradition TJ has created.  He loves going there with Grandma and riding the carousel.  (The blue zebra, of course.)

In the middle of the week, Daddy took TJ & Grandma to the SF Zoo.  They all had a great time showing Grandma around their new favorite hangout place.

This visit was a little more mellow. TJ didn't want to do a whole lot, but stay at home and play  Grandma. And play they did. I think the two wore each other out!  TJ took a four-hour nap the day Grandma left.  We're already counting down the days 'til our trip to Colorado.  We're down to 18!

A few days after Grandma left, we finally made it out to our first Rockies game of the season.  Too bad we were surrounded by Giants fans, and too bad the Rockies are terrible, but we still had a wonderful time at AT&T Park.

The big news in our home this week: TJ is potty-trained!!!  He's being doing a really good job about it, but he was relying on his pull-ups when he wanted to be lazy.  The week he stayed home with Grandma, we kept him in undies most of the time, and when he went back to school last week, we committed to undies.  He had one little accident the entire week, and he's been accident-free for five days now!  Yipee!!!

Fun in the Sun

The three of us took a quick trip to Southern California for Labor Day.  Daddy had his annual Fantasy Football draft party in Orange County, so TJ & Mommy tagged along, and we managed to get a lot of visiting done in just two days.

It started with a fun get-together at the Berlanga's.  While the boys were drafting their teams, all the moms & kiddos hung out, talked, ate snacks, played and swam in the pool.  TJ loved playing with Sam, River, Liam, Amelia, and Jagger.  He especially loved Sam's Spider Man toys and of course, Sam's pool.  TJ hasn't spent much time in the water, but he wasn't phased at all!  He swam and swam, and slid down the slide splashing into the water.  It was definitely a challenge getting him out of there!

The best part: we were able to get the kiddos to sit in the same spots they did 2 years before, and "re-create" the picture from 2010.  (It only took a little bribing with candy!)

After a fun day with everyone, it was time to make the drive north to Nana's house.  TJ ended up passing out on the way, and he didn't wake up until the next morning.  Once he was awake, it was playtime!  TJ had fun playing with Nana & all of the toys at her house. 

We then headed back to Orange County to visit Rode, Christine and their brand new baby girl, Elle.  She is such a precious little girl, and we were so glad to be able to meet her and see the new parents!

After our visit, we headed to the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana.  Uncle Justin & Auntie Ann met us there, and we all had such a great time chasing TJ around!   TJ loved exploring all the exhibits.  He especially loved the trash truck game, the airplane and the submarine.  It was nice to visit with Justin & Ann.

After dinner, we went back to Nana's house for some more playtime with Nana & Bill.  Peggy stopped by for a visit, and TJ enjoyed playing with her, too.

It was a quick trip, but we always say, it's more about quality than quantity!